By Gavin Lennard

Following intense late emergency work to the pitch this match finally got the green light on Friday evening. When Ruts arrived at the ground the Referee made it clear that he wasn’t happy with the pitch, but intended to commence the match anyway, although he did stress that player safety was paramount and that he wouldn’t hesitate to halt the game if he felt it necessary.

Fortunately this didn’t prove to be the case and the strong wind proved to be more of an issue.

Ruts Manager Kerwick had to juggle his pack ahead of this opening League fixture as some notable individuals were unavailable. Influential Captain Alan Whiter (hamstring), Vice Captain Phil Rea (groin), Ryan Brown (wedding) and Nick Raggett/Mark McDowell (holiday) were all missing, which provided the opportunity for other squad members to impress.

The gaffer appointed last season's Player of the Year Richard Lines skipper for the day and Lines duly lost the toss to allow the Ruts to play against the wind in the first period.

Ruts opened reasonably brightly and managed to force a succession of corners during the half. The best chances for the OR’s saw Duncan Fraser hit a volley over, and Scott Ryder nearly latch onto a through ball only to be denied by brave goalkeeping. The clearest chance saw a clever turn and cross from Dave D’Rozario find Neil Whyte unmarked in the area. Whyte failed to connect cleanly though and the keeper comfortably gathered the ball.

At the opposite end Craig Wellstead was tested by a long range free kick which he parried and a couple of other half chances.

The second half began much as the first did, with the side playing against the wind starting the brighter. Reece Smith had replaced Whyte at the interval as the Ruts looked to alter their attacking options.

Ruts best chances of the second period saw a Smith shot turned onto the stantion by the Knaphill keeper and a Fraser header cleared off the line.

With 15 minutes to go Ruts Veteran Jimmy ‘Whizzer’ Wilkes brought down a Knaphill forward in the area and duly earned a triple whammy – 1, a penalty conceded. 2, a yellow card and 3, an injury which rules him out for next weekend.

The resultant spot kick was duly converted and Ruts found themselves staring defeat in the face despite deserving more from the game.

For five minutes frustration swept through the team and during this spell Steve Nash picked up a needless yellow card and Stuart Hawley replaced Dave D’Rozario.

However, the Ruts were rewarded for their efforts on 85 minutes. Smith managed to head a glancing effort towards goal whilst under a heavy challenge by a Knaphill defender which saw the referee point to the spot.

Stand-in penalty taker Steve ‘Tattoo and Twinkle toes’ Nash calmly struck to level from 12 yards.

Manager Kerwick will now be absent for some weeks as he goes into hospital on Monday for his second hip replacement following months of increasing discomfort (from all of the boys – we wish you well Gaffer). In the meantime injured Vice Captain Phil Rea will oversee proceedings with assistance from Craig Wellstead and yours truly.

Kerwick nominated man mountain Richard Lines as Ruts Man of the Match before philosophically signing off for a few weeks by saying: ‘Well…… I’m a point better off than I was this time last year!’

All the best Gaffer – hurry up and come back soon!

By Gavin Lennard

Ruts conceded home advantage for this fixture as Poplar Road was hosting the final weekend of the cricket season.

This was hardly a local derby with the Ruts having to travel from the SW London/Surrey border through Surrey and on to Hampshire, surprisingly this is only 34 miles and the routes are quite scenic at times.

Caretaker managers Rea and Wellstead welcomed back Raggett, Brown and McDowell but had availability headaches with Marshall, Smith, Wilkes and Berry all unavailable from the previous week’s squad. In addition, Whiter and Rea were still sidelined. Neil Whyte picked up a rib injury against Knaphill the previous week and he was forced into being an emergency substitute and following the late loss of Smith, Ruts youngster Luke Creates (17) replaced him on the wide right of midfield. Richard Lines continued to deputise as captain.

Ruts started brightly and enjoyed a great deal of possession. In the 23rd minute Luke Creates delivered an exquisite right wing cross from the byline and having lost his marker Dave D’Rozario cleverly headed the ball past the advancing keeper to give Ruts the lead.

The rest of the half was played out relatively evenly, although Ruts edged the possession stakes. In the second minute of injury time a contested throw in was awarded to Yateley deep in the Ruts half. The OR’s defence allowed a temporary lapse of concentration to gift an opening to an opponent who made no mistake to fire past Wellstead allowing the teams to go in level at the break.

The second half was similar to the first with both teams working hard in a competitive match. Scott Ryder picked up a calf injury and was replaced by Stuart Hawley after 55 minutes. Again Ruts were enjoying the greater amount of possession and were rewarded for their efforts in the 68th minute with a truly sublime goal from Dave D’Rozario. The former Walton Casuals man was just inside the Yateley area and cleverly controlled the ball on his chest before deftly delivering the ball over the static keeper and into the net. 2–1 to the Ruts.

Frustratingly for Ruts, D’Rozario then picked up a calf injury and had to follow Ryder off the field. Rea’s only remaining replacement options were himself and Neil Whyte - Rea’s two sided coin meant that Whyte had to join McDowell up front for the final 20 minutes.

Wellstead pulled off a great save with his legs from Yateley’s best effort of the half as Fraser, Lines and Raggett continued to thwart virtually every other threat.

The now revamped midfield of Nash, Flanagan, Brown, Hawley and Creates were working extremely hard, as were McDowell and Whyte up front.

In the 83rd minute a strong surging run from Raggett saw him cut inside from the right wing before gliding past two Yateley defenders and, with just the keeper to beat, Raggett’s effort went narrowly wide.

As with both of last season’s matches between the two sides it appeared that the score line would remain 2–1 to the OR’s and I doubt many spectators would have thought this unfair based on the balance of play.

However, dream away and move on as deep into injury time (I made it the fourth of the five minutes added for genuine stoppages) Yateley were awarded a free kick some 40 yards out on their left hand touchline.

The free kick spent a few seconds pinging around the Ruts area before finally reaching an unmarked Yateley player at the far post who fired the ball into the net to level.

Deja-vu? Yateley elated, Ruts deflated….. Ruts had been punished by two injury time levellers from rare defensive mistakes, so lessons to be learned there.

In summary, this was a good competitive match superbly refereed by Dominic Spena. Given the overall circumstances Ruts will see this as two points dropped rather than a point gained.

Absent manager Brian Kerwick (who is out of hospital and doing well) expanded on his philosophical sign off from last week by adding ‘Well, I’m two points better off than this time last year’.

Dave D’Rozario’s two goals and performance saw him awarded the Ruts Man of the Match award.

Ruts will definitely be hoping their early season injury list reduces before next weeks visit to Pyrford.

From next week the match report rota will recommence for the season – I bid you farewell until it’s my turn again.

By Richard Lines

Old Ruts were playing their third game of the season having seen themselves draw their first two fixtures, despite doing enough in both games for the points tally to show six rather than two. Last season Pyrford got the better of the league fixtures. How would the Ruts fair against them in this fixture?

The game was to see ‘fit again’ captain Alan Whiter deputise in defence for the suspended Richard Lines alongside the returning Neil Marshall and ever present this season Duncan Fraser. Nick Raggett returned to his familiar role in the middle alongside Steve Nash and Ryan Brown. They were flanked by Scott Ryder and Andy Flanagan, which stand-in manager Phil Rea would hope would provide some natural width and would be a threat going forward supporting the front pairing of Mark McDowell and Dave D'Rozario.

The opening encounters saw the Ruts on top and dominating possession but not testing the young Pyrford keeper. The defence was coping comfortably with any threat from Pyrford, with the ball rarely getting as far as sweeper Whiter let alone Craig Wellstead in goal. Brown in midfield could enjoy some time on the ball with workhorses Nash and Raggett alongside him allowing him to put some impressive passes through for the front two.

However the breakthrough was not to come until it broke to Raggett on 27 minutes on the edge of the area who powered a thunderous shot at goal. The keeper could only parry out and up allowing an oncoming Nash to head in just inside of the post, despite a last ditch effort by a Pyrford defender to keep it out. The Ruts had made their possession count and were 1-0 up.

After the goal the Ruts found themselves a little guilty of giving the ball away cheaply and letting Pyrford enjoy a number of spells of possession in the Ruts half, although Pyrford could only muster a few speculative long range efforts. The Ruts saw out the half still looking comfortable and would look to kick on after the break.

Youngster Reece Smith came on for the second half after Flanagan had a reoccurrence of a knee problem sustained the week before after a nasty tackle.

The first action of note was to see the ball to break to Marshall 30 yards out, who hit a sublime shot at goal. The Pyrford keeper - who may have seen the standard of Marshall's shooting before and not felt threatened - was caught unaware and could only fumble the shot which luckily for him fell to one of his defenders, who cleared from danger.

Shortly after, a dubious decision from the Referee was to cost the Ruts their lead. A shot from a Pyrford player 20 yards out hit a Ruts defender’s arm at near point-blank range and a free kick was awarded at the angle of the 18 yard box. Despite the Pyrford player hitting a sweet shot from the free kick, Wellstead will be disappointed not to keep out the effort after getting across his goal in what seemed plenty of time to catch the ball. It wasn't to be and Wellstead made a rare error allowing the home team to get back in the game after the ball squeezed between him and the post.

This was to spur on the Ruts who were to create a number of good chances over the following minutes. Ryder making some good runs down the left and created a number of half chances. However, it was Nash who found himself free on the right after a good interchange with Smith. He picked out a long range pass which found Raggett in space inside the Pyrford area and from 10 yards Raggett drove a good low shot towards goal only for the Pyrford keeper to save with his feet and deflect it for a corner. Another teasing Brown corner found Nash unmarked at the back post to power into the back of the net restoring the Ruts goal lead and adding to Nash's impressive goal tally.

Shortly after when Nash had won a good tackle and drove at the Pyrford defence, he was caught up in the moment and while D'Rozario and a number of other Ruts players found themselves free, he spurned the chance to pass in search of his hattrick.

Pyrford won a throw deep into the Ruts half on 65 minutes which was cleared initially only to find a Pyrford player attempt a lob. Fraser managed to clear off the line to preserve the Ruts deserved lead.

The game was getting a little more stretched now with both teams enjoying some good passing spells. One of note was a pass from Nash inside the centre circle out to Smith, who had broken clear down the right and hit a sweet strike which the Pyrford keeper could only watch as it flew just the wrong side of the post.

Neil Whyte - who is looking fitter and more dangerous each week - replaced D'Rozario with 15 minutes left. It was only going to take a few minutes before Whyte was to be in the thick of it and after a good pass from McDowell out to the right, Smith beat the Pyrford left back and put a first time ball into Whyte's path only for him to spurn a good chance to wrap up the game from 12 yards.

In the closing five minutes Pyrford enjoyed some possession, but the sturdy defence dealt with most things they could throw at them. Another dubious decision from the ref frustrated the players and ended with Fraser getting himself a yellow card. However, to highlight the shock of the players at the decision, Smith was also spoken to, much to the surprise of his team-mates, most of whom had never heard him speak! Well done to the referee for bringing out the man in the boy Smith!

The Ruts ultimately saw out their first win of the season and there was even time for Brown to show off his ‘one trick slow motion step over’ before the final whistle - his team-mates are still asking themselves how he gets away with it!

The Ruts entertain top of the table Eversley next weekend in their first home game of the season.
Man of the Match was awarded to Steve Nash for his general all round play and important contribution of two goals.

By Alan Whiter

The Old Ruts entertained current league leaders Eversley at Poplar Road in a match that brought together two good footballing teams and one below par referee.

The Ruts were still missing a few players through injury and striker Dave D’Rozario missing the match as he was on a Haggis tasting weekend away.

Both teams started well with the Ruts having the majority of the opening possession. The central midfield trio of Ryan Brown, Nick Raggett and Steve Nash dominated the opening encounters and Man of the Match Reece Smith and Scott Ryder on the flanks were able to get in behind the defence on a number of occasions.

Eversley battled well and managed to create a few half chances which were dealt with by the Ruts back three of Duncan Fraser, Richard Lines and Neil Marshall with the help of Craig Wellstead between the sticks. The Ruts continued to get the ball down and play through to the front two of Mark McDowell and Neil Whyte but the Eversley defence managed to snuff out any real threat on goal. The Ruts had the better of the first half attempts with McDowell and Raggett going close on separate occasions from Brown’s set piece deliveries.

The second half started much like the first with both teams having good possession and creating a few decent half chances. Eversley managed to break the deadlock midway through the second half when they broke down the Ruts right with a good run from their centre forward who struck a fierce shot which was goalbound. Wellstead managed to pull off a great save but unfortunately the ball struck Richard Lines, who had no chance of getting out of the way, and it rolled into the net.

Almost immediately the Ruts were level. From a corner, Smith caused havoc in the box and the ball fell to the feet of Fraser who managed to slot home from close range.

Andy Flanagan was brought on to replace Whyte with Smith moving up front to partner McDowell. Almost immediately McDowell was then sent off for two yellow cards picked up in quick succession. Eversley took the initiative and had the Ruts on the back foot for a long spell. The Ruts battled back and were awarded a penalty when Smith was fouled in the area. The resulting spot kick was duly dispatched by Nash to put the Ruts 2-1 up.

Luke Creates replaced Ryder on the left side of midfield and the Ruts looked to be in control for the last ten minutes of the match with Smith working well to keep possession in the opponents half. In the last few minutes Eversley managed to force an equaliser when they were awarded a dubious free kick which the Ruts defence failed to deal with. The ball fell to their number nine who crashed a shot past the helpless Wellstead.

The Ruts felt like it was a case of two points lost and must get back to winning ways next week when they are at home to Shottermill & Haslemere.

By Andy Flanagan

For the second week running the Ruts found themselves playing top of the table, with Shottermill & Haslemere the only team to have a 100% record going into week five. Having won so convincingly the previous week they would have come into the game brimming with confidence, and after another somewhat disappointing draw this was a must win game for the Ruts to ensure no further ground was lost to the early front runners.

With Phil Rea nursing a bad back (and head by the looks of him) the defensive trio of Richard Lines, Neil Marshall and Duncan Fraser yet again lined up in front of Craig Wellstead in goal. The middle trio of Nick Raggett, Ryan Brown and Steve Nash were flanked by Luke Creates on the right and Andy Flanagan filling in for the absent Scott Ryder on the left. Last week's Man of the Match Reece Smith partnered the returning Dave D'Rozario up front in a new look attack. Steve Berry and Scott Hawley were joined on the subs bench by a now fit again Alan Whiter, with Richard Lines deputising for him as captain.

Ruts started the game the brighter of the two with the back three dealing with some early long balls quite comfortably and the midfield proving to be generally stronger in their all round play. Could the Ruts make this strong start count? Yes they could. After breaking up an S&H attack, a sustained passage of passing moved the ball out to Creates on the right whose pass inside was dummied almost Scholes-esque like by Smith, allowing Raggett to burst through the static defence and fire the Ruts into an early lead - a good move finished off well.

The Ruts then continued to dominate their own personal battles for the rest of the half without really creating any clean cut chances for the front two and limiting S&H to hitting long balls to their solitary striker, whose efforts were snuffed out by the Ruts back three. The Ruts almost let their good start go to waste with a couple of defensive lapses, one of which resulted in Fraser having to make a last gasp tackle/save!

After a few words of wisdom at half time from manager Brian Kerwick, the Ruts picked up the pace in the second half with Brown, Nash and Raggett imposing themselves from the off and not allowing the S&H a sniff in the middle of the park. Wingers Flanagan and Creates were allowed to get forward more due to the Ruts dominance in possesion while Smith and D'Rozario's movement was causing problems for the S&H defence.

The best move of the second half came on 65 minutes after more Ruts pressure, with Man of the Match Brown playing a short ball to D'Rozario, who then flicked the ball over the top of the defence for Smith to go through one on one with the keeper, but his cheeky back heel attempt was well saved. The resulting Ryan Brown corner was well met by Fraser but went narrowly over.

Steve Berry came on with twenty minutes to go for Luke Creates, who put in a solid shift down the right hand side.

Some late S&H pressure meant it was all hands to the pump for the last fifteen minutes with the Ruts having to deal with a number of long throws, free kicks and corners which were all dealt with solidly enough. There were one or two heart stopping moments right at the end with Wellstead almost heading into his own net after claiming a cross - thankfully the ball went out for a corner and the Ruts went on to record a much needed and deserved win.

By Gavin Lennard

Both teams went into this match undefeated and intent on remaining so at the end of the afternoon.

Ruts preparation was hampered by the no-show of their occasionally Lucan-esque keeper and the "I’m not well, I’m not sure if I can play today" Ryan Brown. Manager Kerwick’s head scratching was eased when forward Mark McDowell offered to step in if we could find some gloves… a detour for yours truly and £30 later and we’re sorted and fortunately Brown recovered sufficiently enough to play and impress with a strong performance (for the record - a heavy fine has been imposed on our absentee).

On the plus side Ruts influential captain Alan Whiter returned to make his second league start of the season.

Whiter’s return in defence enabled manager Brian Kerwick to shuffle things a bit. Richard Lines was moved up front to partner D’Rozario, whilst Neil Marshall and Duncan Fraser completed the defensive line up.

Steve Nash, Ryan Brown and Nick Raggett patrolled the midfield flanked by the 18 year old duo of Luke Creates and Reece Smith. Unfortunately a back injury forced Smith off the field midway through the first period and Kevin Foster entered play to enjoy his first 1st XI action of the campaign.

Ruts started brightly and enjoyed the lion's share of the possession for 25 minutes before play levelled out between the teams.

Frustratingly for the Ruts after starting promisingly a rare defensive error from Marshall allowed an opponent a clear run goalward and the resulting shot decisively sailed into the Ruts net.

Ruts best chance to level before the interval was a Steve Nash drive from 20 yards. Following neat build up play Nash’s goalbound effort was deflected wide for a corner.

At the interval Kerwick offered his team words of reassurance as despite being behind they had all played well and any criticism for their efforts wouldn’t have been justified.

So to the second half, some of the football on display was a credit to both clubs and Intermediate football. Conscious that a second goal for the home side would surely mean defeat for the Ruts each man diligently went about his duties.

The home team’s best chance to increase their lead occurred when young Creates lost possession in midfield which allowed a Woking player to run goalward, but his effort was saved by the feet of McDowell much to the relief of the Ruts.

Play was evenly poised for most of the period although Ruts managed to equalise on 75 minutes. Following a spell of Ruts pressure a Richard Lines shot was parried by the Woking Park keeper, quick thinking from D’Rozario saw him collect the loose ball before playing an exquisite cross to Duncan Fraser at the far post – Fraser made no mistake with the header and the leveller was no less that the Ruts deserved.

Sensing that all three points were ‘up for grabs’ again the resurgent Ruts should have taken the lead – for the second time in 10 minutes D’Rozario played in a delightful cross into the danger area, Kevin Foster unfortunately got his head under rather than over the ball and the chance was gone.

A stupid incident five minutes from time saw a player from both teams incredibly fortunate not to be sent off. Fortunately for the individuals concerned the referee deemed it a ‘handbag’ incident and the resultant melee quickly dispersed.

On the overall balance of play a draw was probably a fair result, although the Old Ruts need to find the formula for turning draws into victories if they are to challenge for the title once again.

Every Ruts player put in a strong performance but without doubt Mark McDowell deserved his M.O.T.M award for standing in for the absent Wellstead.

Well done too to Stuart Hawley who had been looking forward to 90 minutes for the 3rd XI, but the late pack shuffling meant he had to support Kerwick’s squad and despite not being used he showed a terrific attitude – well done!

By Scott Ryder

This was a game the Old Ruts will want to forget. Having gone unbeaten in the league so far this season, Milford & Witley offered the opportunity to extend their run with a convincing victory, but it was not to be.

Alan Whiter passed a late fitness test and slotted in to the centre of the back trio with Marshall and Fraser. Wellstead returned between the sticks and the midfield quintet of Raggett, Brown, Nash, Creates and Flanagan looked to inject the inspiration from the middle of the park. The front two of Lines and D'Rozario completed the formation which looked very strong on paper. With the abundance of talent on the bench (Ryder, McDowell and Smith) no position was safe as a subs bench of this quality could slot in anywhere.

The first half passed without major incident for both sides. D'Rozario was unlucky after some good hassling work on a dallying defender saw an opportunity present itself, but he couldn't get the shot away in time.

The wrath of manager Brian Kerwick was felt at half time. He made his feelings very clear that the standard of play wasn't acceptable and he would want a change in performance for the second half. The Ruts did rally to this call and although the football wasn't great it was better in comparison to the first half.

With 25 minutes to go, Milford & Witley fired in an innocuous looking free kick towards the Ruts box. It wasn't dealt with sufficiently and after a parry from Wellstead, the ball was poked across the line by a Milford player. This seemed to wake the Ruts and for the last 25 minutes they did push on in search of the equaliser.

A double substitution of Lines and D'Rozario introduced Ryder and McDowell in to the action. A few half chances were created, with the best falling to the feet of Ryder, but due to a poor cross by Marshall that went behind the player he was unable to connect cleanly with the ball (in fact he didn't connect with the ball at all, but even the best have done it!)

A final push saw all hands on deck but the resultant set ball pieces couldn't be tucked away although Nash came close from one of them.

The final whistle blew to signal the Ruts first defeat of the campaign. The school report would indeed read "could and should do better". The squad need to learn from this game and pick themselves up for this Saturdays home clash with Pyrford.

By Danny Poulter

The Old Ruts went into this game looking to get back to winning ways after last week's disappointing home defeat. The manager wanted to make sure his team did not drop any more points at Poplar Road.

An evenly contested first half hour was briefly lit up when Ruts midfielder Nick Raggett saw a long range effort sale inches over the Pyrford crossbar

The deadlock was broken after some typical neat footwork from the impressive Mark McDowell drew a defender to trip him in the area. Steve Nash calmly stepped up and placed his penalty to the right of the goalkeeper and the Ruts had a well deserved lead.

The half time team talk was positive. The focus was on continuing to play as they had and remain patient.

Scott Ryder was making up for his air shot the previous week, his hard work and incisive passing earned him the Man of the Match award. However, Ryder could not prevent Pyrford taking the lead against the run of play. A defensive lapse from a corner allowed a forward a free header in the six yard box.

The Ruts then laid siege to the Pyrford goal. Kevin Foster and Luke Creates were causing problems on the wings, but the equaliser came through the unlikely source of central defender Neil Marshall. The goal was a scrappy affair that will not reign long in people's memories, except for Marshall's who celebrated as though he had scored the winner in a cup final.

Once again the Old Ruts let their concentration slip. Pyrford broke away quickly and scored the best goal of the game, a great ball out to the left wing allowed the forward to cut inside and curl the ball into the roof of the net giving Wayne Alderman no chance in the Old Ruts goal.

The Ruts were now visibly deflated and manager Brian Kerwick whirred into action, continuing to encourage his team. His faith was rewarded in the dying seconds, when Richard Lines scored a typically brave header from a disputed corner.

Pyrford were furious but on the balance of the game a draw was probably a fair result. The Ruts had the lion's share of possession but need to create more clear cut chances if they are to enjoy success this season.

By Scott Ryder

The Ruts posted only their second win of their title defence season against bottom placed Chiddingfold with two very late goals to secure all three points.

Manager Brian Kerwick reverted to his trusty 4-4-2 formation which has brought him much success over the past couple of seasons. The back four of Marc Hawley, Richard Lines, Duncan Fraser and Andy Flanagan set up in front of the returning Gavin Coutts in goal.

Nick Raggett, Steve Nash, Ryan Brown and Luke Creates made up the midfield, with Scott Ryder and the return of the Ruts journeyman Lee "Trigger" Poulter up front.

The Ruts created plenty of chances in the first half and Trigger converted with a neat header into the bottom corner after 22 minutes. This was Trigger's 150th goal for the Ruts and puts him in the record books with only three other Old Ruts scoring over the 150 mark (Ian Lennard 300, Alan Morley 200 and David Murphy 174).

Nash netted another before the end of the first half but Chiddingfold pulled one back to make it 2-1 at halftime.

The second half was pretty much the same story as the first, with lots of chances being created but not being finished. With 10 minutes to go Chiddingfold scored the equaliser and it looked like the Ruts would be putting yet another draw on the score board.

Encouragingly though, the Ruts didn't let their heads drop and went in search of the winner. With five minutes left Trigger went down in the box and the referee awarded a penalty. Nash calmly stepped up to score his second of the game, although some players later voiced concerns over the quality of the penalty strike and placement!!

The best goal of the match was scored by Ryder with about 30 seconds to go. Some great work by substitue Mark McDowell on the left saw him ghost past three Chiddingfold players and pull back a cross to the trusty left foot of Ryder on the edge of the box which he duly dispatched like a rocket into the top corner.

In summary, not the best game in the world but a win's a win!! (A win is not a win if you don't win of course. It would then be a loss or even a draw, but it was a win so don't even worry about this because it didn't happen).

All eyes are now focused on the big Surrey Cup match at home to Tongham on Saturday.

By

Report to follow...

By Lee Poulter

Old Ruts travelled to one of the lower positioned teams in the league looking for their third straight win.

The condition of the pitch was terrible, but this didnt stop the Ruts making a bright start and a brave Lee Poulter header was chalked off for nothing more than a terrible decision.

The pressure continued and so did the strange decisions as a clear cut penalty was then waved away. The home team were encouraged by this and went in front soon after through the brand new boot of Ruts defender Neil Marshall. However, the Ruts were level after an Ockham own goal of their own on the half hour mark.

The second half started in the same vein with the Ruts in the ascendency. The game saw many Ruts chances throughout the second half and Man of the Match Reece Smith was the one to convert two of them to give the Ruts a 3-1 victory and moving back to where they belong amongst the league leaders!

By Dave D'Rozario

Old Ruts made it four wins in a row against a well organised Shalford side. The strength of the Ruts squad was well tested with Poulter, Nash, Rea, Brown and Flanagan all unavailable.

The Ruts started well and on the balance of play had the better of the early exchanges. However, on 20 minutes Shalford took the lead with their first meaningful attack of the game. Shalford's right half broke free down the right and kept his composure to lift the ball over oncoming keeper Alderman.

Shalford's lead was short lived and on 30 minutes a good delivery from Creates found D'Rozario who controlled and fired into the roof of the Shalford net. 1-1. The reminder of the half saw both sides battling to gain the ascendancy.

The Ruts half time talk saw manager Brian Kerwick call for his side to raise their work rate another 20-30 % and also for them to make greater use of the wing backs (Ryder & Creates). In spite of the chat it was Shalford who started the second half the better making good use of the wide pitch. They capitalised on this early pressure when a good ball in from the left was controlled and dispatched past Alderman by the Shalford number 10. 2-1 to Shalford.

This spurred the Ruts into action and the midfield of Ryder, Creates, Raggett, Whiter and Reynolds (on to replace McDowell) started to dominate. On 70 minutes the visitors drew level for the second time when a spell of sustained pressure resulted in a corner. Ryder's well placed delivery was met by
Fraser who rose highest to head the equaliser.

Within five minutes the Ruts took the lead for the first time in the match. Another well placed Ryder set piece was converted by Lines who powered a header past the Shalford keeper.

Shalford rallied for the final 15 minutes but were unable to test Alderman and the Ruts defence of Marshall, Lines and Fraser. Ruts created a couple of openings to kill the game with Smith and D'Rozario spurning good chances, but they held on for the win.

All in all a good performance and three well earned points. The Ruts skipper Alan Whiter was awarded the Man of the Match accolade for his tireless work in the Ruts engine room!

By Gavin Lennard

This County Cup tie pitched two teams from South London together and no doubt both teams envisaged 'another tough encounter' reminiscent of the epic duels between the sides during the Old Ruts time in the SSEC League. The Ruts normally edged the league outings between the sides, although Battersea held the upper hand on cup results.

With the management teams from both clubs also familiar with each other, this tie had the ingredients for a classic.

Old Ruts lined up with Alderman in goal and Fraser, Marshall, Rea as the central defensive trio. In the middle of the park Whiter, Raggett and Lines were flanked by Ryder and Smith with Poulter partnering D'Rozario up front. Creates, Flanagan and McDowell started the afternoon on the bench.

Ruts came out of the starting blocks the brightest and within five minutes had taken an early lead. Captain Alan Whiter collected the ball 30 yards out, stepped goalward and lined himself up for a long range effort. With 25 yards to go he unleashed a barnstorming drive into the top right hand corner of the net.

As the half continued to unfold it was the visitors who began to enjoy the greater possession. After half an hour Ruts man mountain Richard Lines fell awkwardly and gained a nasty but clean arm break - we wish him well for a prompt recovery and return to action. Flanagan stepped up from the bench to replace his acting landlord on the field of play.

Ruts defence held firm until the 37th minute when Battersea were awarded a penalty for handball, which they duly despatched for 1-1.

Just a few minutes later Battersea were awarded another penalty which Ruts felt aggrieved about. However, the decision had been made, the penalty converted and the scoreline had been spun on its head in the space of just a few minutes – 1-2.

Manager Brian Kerwick rallied his team at the interval which seemed to have a positive effect as they started the second half fired up. Midway through the period Ruts gained a penalty of their own when Whiter's quick feet saw him upended in the area.

With this season's top scorer Steve Nash still suspended, Lee Poulter reclaimed penalty duties and promptly made no mistake to level from 12 yards.

The Ruts were awarded their second penalty on 70 minutes when Reece Smith was shoved from behind in the area whilst attempting to get on the end of a well delivered Ryder cross. Poulter stepped up again to calmly convert and make it 3-2 to the Old Ruts.

With the match 'heating up' Ironsides had a player sent off shortly afterwards. Yet despite this they levelled with 10 minutes of normal time to go when their forward evaded two flat-footed Ruts defenders to calmly lob over Alderman's head from 20 yards.

With just a few minutes of normal time left Ironsides were left to rue ill-discipline from another one of their players leaving their remaining nine men to face extra-time alone.

Extra time did arrive and to be fair the Ironsides deserve great credit for the way they played. The Ruts failed to take advantage of the extra men and although the Ruts could and should have sealed the game, the fact is they didn't.

In the second period of extra time Ruts cheaply conceded a number of free-kicks in or around their own area. This offered the visitors opportunities to cause some chaos although fortunately for the Ruts on the final occasion Alderman prevented 'the egg from landing' on the Ruts faces by being extremely alert with a fine block from a close range effort.

So after 120 minutes, four penalties, two sending offs, numerous cautions, some touchline telling-offs and drama, plus a broken arm it was now time for a penalty shoot out shortly before dusk.

Like any penalty shoot out it's a lottery partly dependent on a goalkeeper being a hero. Poulter, Raggett, Ryder and Marshall all confidently converted for the Ruts (some bloody good pens there boys).

Alderman was the Ruts star of the shoot out by saving Ironsides 2nd and 4th penalties, meaning Flanagan didn't need to take the fifth leaving the final score 3-3 AET and a 4-2 win on penalties for the Ruts.

Neil Marshall picked up Ruts Man of the Match award for another solid, competent display. Alderman ran him close though with his own impressive performance and heroics in the shoot-out.

By Phil Rea

The Old Ruts travelled to Guildford City on Saturday for a League Cup game.

That strangely familiar aroma of alcohol, deep heat, mud and last night's sweat filled the changing room. The golf event the previous day, where the honest football boys were cruelly robbed by Bandit Egg chasers (I hear) had taken its toll on many.

Although the Poplar Road outfit (or should I say unfit) looked a little worse for wear, they were still to be considered favourites for this game. After all, the Ruts play a league above Guildford City. However the pitch was bobbly, the players looked wobbly and the sun was low and blinding. This game had Banana Skin written all over it...

The Ruts started for the first time this season in a 4-4-2 formation, with Rea, Fraser, Marshall and Flannigan across the back, Ryder, Brown, Whiter and Raggett in the middle and Trigger and D'Rozario up front.

The Ruts looked sluggish and nervous on the ball from the word go. The young Guildford side were hungry for the ball and their tricky number 8 was getting a lot of the ball. As the game progressed Guildford were gaining confidence from watching a team in a higher division fail to show any quality. Brown (playing for the first time since slicing off his favourite nose picking finger) was having mixed success trying to knock balls over the top to Trigger and D'Rozario. D'Rozario did get clear from his marker on one occasion, but when he found himself just needing to lift the ball over the stranded keeper, his usual deft touch left him and the chance sailed high and wide.

Wally, who was between the sticks, stuck to to his usual zero sleep preparation policy and was never really troubled in the opening 20 minutes, but was definitely the busier of the two keepers.

The Ruts rythym in this game was like the end of Brown's index finger... missing. However, there were snippets of good play. The talented Mr Whiter was, like Gerrard, asked by Brian to do a job on the right side of midfield. Memories of his Carshalton Athletic days were flooding back and he bombed (well, thundered) down the wing to deliver some really useful balls into the box.

In fact it was the skipper's predatory instincts that created the opener for the Ruts as he pounced bravely on a loose ball in the box to score from three yards and put the Ruts in an undeserving lead.

Alan's goal was probably against the run of play and because of this Brian decided to switch back to the more familiar 3-5-2 formation the team had being playing this season, in the hope of winning more of the midfield battle.

Unfortunately Brian was dealing with a side that had been on the lash till 3am and no one seemed to know their arse from their elbow. Guildford took advantage of this and scored almost straight away to make it 1-1. This of course was nothing to do with the change of formation, just rubbish defending.

Brian then changed it back to 4-4-2.

The Ruts continued to try and play football, but were just not at the races, and as the first half went on it seemed inevitable that Brian would be giving us a deserved rollicking at the break. Now Brian doesn't like getting the hairdryer out, but does now and then when required, so it was a relief to both him and the team that the boys finally turned on a bit of style and promptly scored three goals in the last five minutes of the first half.

The first of these was started by Rea who intercepted a ball in his own half, stroked the ball out to Whiter and continued his run upfield. Marshall then received the ball from Whiter and delivered an early lofted teasing ball into the box that left the keeper hesitating. Rea realised that this lingering cross could be met with the fist of the keeper, but nevertheless bravely leapt like a plump yet muscular salmon to lob the keeper with a well cushioned header - a truly superb goal. A contender for goal of the season I feel.

The next goal came straight from the centre and saw an impressive collection of passes from the Ruts, finished off with a fine run and cross from Whiter which was met with a powerful header from "the whisky swigging Golfer" Ryder at close range to make it 3-1. The "Portuguese Pin Up" D'Rozario made it 4-1 shortly after with a shot from close range. From here the game was won.

At the break Brian was relieved that he didn’t have to give us a telling off, although he did mention that apart from that five minute spell we were cr*p and we needed to raise our game an extra 30%.

Guildford came out fighting with nothing to lose so they threw men forward in an attempt to get something from the game. This left openings and young Reece and Luke (who came on for Ryder and Trigger) looked lively and caused the Guildford defence problems on many occasions.

Reece was especially effective and used his lightning pace and trickery to carve out two or three one on ones, only to put most of his shots straight at the keeper. On another day he could have scored a hatrick.

Neil "Metrosexual" Marshall had a good game and was as reliable as ever. However he is always his own worst critic. "You 'effing Loser" he screamed at himself after giving the ball away cheaply. Some would say he is just pre-empting other people's reactions?? But I disagree. Neil, don't beat yourself up so much mate, you're not a loser, you're a perfectionist with a fake tan.

We never did find that extra 30% Brian was looking for, but we showed glimpses of good football, but for the spectators it must have been an unentertaining 2nd half. The only goal came from the PPU who slotted his second of the day making it a respectable 5-1 score line.

The Ruts had just a bit more quality and experience than Guildford City outfit on the day, but respect must go to Guildford for never giving up.

So the Ruts are still in both cup competitions and sit second in the league - not bad, but there is definitely room for improvement if we are to come away this season with any silverware.

A late clash of heads saw Rea come away with a rather sexy looking one inch slash above his right eyebrow (so my misses says). The Beast glimpsed it after the game and sneered "It's only a scratch, I get cuts bigger than that from shaving."

Thoughts of The Beast shaving with a bread knife came to mind.

By Gavin Lennard

This was definitely a game the Ruts should have got something out of. However, as is often the case this 'funny old game' didn't go to plan.

Manager Brian Kerwick had to make a few enforced late changes with captain Alan Whiter unavailable at short notice and the injury prone Trigger declaring himself unable to run properly during the warm up.

Creates was loaned to the Reserves to enable him to get a full 90 minutes under his belt and Lines (broken arm) and Nash (final week of suspension) were forced to watch from the touchline.

Ruts lined up with Alderman in goal, Rea, Marshall and Fraser across the back, Flanagan, Brown, Raggett, Smith, Foster in the middle and D'Rozario and Ryder up front. The injured Poulter stayed changed up for emergency use although Ruts only fit sub was Leon Trowbridge who was called up following Whiter's withdrawal.

Horsley started well and their opener was a well taken effort on eight minutes.

Ruts eventually gained momentum and proceeded to create a hatful of chances. Inspired goal-keeping, the crossbar and poor finishing denied OR's the leveller their possession deserved and to add salt to their wounds Horsley smashed and grabbed a second in first half injury time.

The second half again saw the Ruts enjoy plenty of possession, although Horsley themselves continued to create some openings of their own.

Kevin Foster reduced the deficit on 70 minutes with a well placed shot on the turn and the Ruts sensed that their fortunes were on the ascent. Any joy was short lived though as within a few minutes the unfortunate Alderman hit row A rather than row Z with a clearance and the grateful Horsley forward made no mistake with his early gift from Santa.

Alderman was disappointed with his solitary blip as he had pulled off several fine saves earlier in the game to keep the Ruts hopes of salvation alive.

Even at 3-1 down it appeared the OR's could take points from the game. They continued to create chances in abundance and Ruts Man of the Match Duncan Fraser fired home the second with five minutes to go.

With the Ruts now camped in the Horsley half scoring chances continued to arrive. The OR's can only blame themselves for not making any of the latter opportunities count though and as the final whistle arrived Horsley were definitely pleased to be leaving Poplar Road with all three points.

Overall the Ruts weren't firing on all cylinders and the few absent pistons (I think there is only 1 's' in that) might have made a difference. Nevertheless well done to Horsley on their happy away day.

It was nice to see Mr Wootton officiate with his renowned common sense style and even nicer to claim back £5 of his match fee for his ticket in the Old Ruts Christmas raffle – have a good one Pat, if you win the shopping trolley full of booze I promise to tell you!!

The Ruts must now work incredibly hard to keep themselves in the wide open title race starting with what will be an interesting home match against Knaphill on the 30th December.

With the Ruts seven match unbeaten run finished they will be keen to commence a new one, whereas the visitors will be bringing a run of the same tally to Poplar Road for the return fixture between the sides who drew 1-1 in the first encounter of the season.

By Gavin Lennard

With the Gaffer Brian Kerwick enjoying himself in Italy it was up to yours truly, Phil ‘HF’ Rea and captain Alan Whiter to select the team for the visit of Knaphill for the final match of 2006.

Despite completing a five week ban for a Sunday misdemeanour, Steve Nash’s holiday timing prevented his return. Flanagan and Lines were known absentees, although Rea, Brown and Poulter were late withdrawals from the squad.

The Ruts reverted to a 4-4-2 formation and lined up with Alderman in goal, Ryder was steered to rearguard left back action, Noonan was called up to partner Fraser for his first 1st XI start of the season and Marshall was assigned to right back duty. The central midfield comprised of Raggett and Whiter who were flanked by the 18 year old duo of Smith and Creates. D’Rozario was partnered up front by Whyte, whilst Stu Hawley, Wellstead and Poulter were joined on the bench by late call ups Berry and Foster.

Knaphill opened the exchanges crisper than the ORs and the home team's hopes of finding their own rhythm were hampered early on when the unorthodox cad Noonan performed a Pele overhead kick (badly) and promptly landed clumsily (almost Oaf-like) on his back. Unfortunately upon landing he’d managed to dislocate his elbow and fracture his arm, and as a result he spent the night in St ‘Hel’iers and woke up on his Birthday morn still in his ORs shorts in an NHS bed. From everyone at the club we wish you a speedy recovery big lad.

The Ruts brought on Steve Berry at right back and moved Neil Marshall to the centre of defence. Before long the Ruts defence was exposed and Marshall up-ended their forward who was through on goal. A penalty was awarded, although fortunately for the Ruts the ref decided not to show a card and keeper Wayne Alderman pulled off a terrific save getting down low to his left.

Five minutes later Knaphill did mange to take the lead though when a well delivered free kick was firmly headed in, leaving Alderman no chance.

Instantly from the restart the ORs levelled when D'Rozario played in Berry down the Ruts right wing. Berry delivered a cross into the Knaphill area and D'Rozario did excellently to get on the end of the move he'd started. Just a few minutes later Berry converted himself from a similar range from a Whyte cross to provide the Ruts with a 2-1 half time lead.

The Ruts enjoyed a fair amount of possession at the start of the second half, but despite creating at least four good chances they couldn't increase the lead. The pick of the bunch saw Reece Smith have a clear header on goal which went wide and he was also unfortunate not to earn a penalty when he was fouled seemingly in the area, although the referee awarded a free kick on the edge of the box. Nick Raggett struck the dead ball with venom and his shot appeared to have goal written all over it, but the Knaphill keeper had read a different script and pulled off a first class save to keep them in the match.

On 70 minutes Knaphill levelled with a good finish when their forward found space to fire home in the Ruts area. However, Ruts responded on 85 minutes when Ryder fired a rasping drive into the Knaphill net from outside of the area to make it 3-2.

As has happened too frequently this season the ORs failed to hold onto a late lead, and in added time the visitors equalised again when a speculative long range shot was parried by Alderman and a Knaphill forward calmly netted the rebound leaving the Ruts to rue the missed opportunity of topping the table at the turn of the year.

To compound matters, Duncan Fraser was dismissed after needlessly talking himself in to Mr Kehoe's book for the second time in the game.

Young Luke Creates was awarded the ORs closely contested Man of the Match award for his tireless work throughout the match.

So 3-3 was the final score and on the overall balance of play a draw was probably a fair result in this entertaining game.

By Alan Whiter

The first league match of 2007 saw the visit of Woking Park & Horsell to Polar Road. The match was in doubt due to the horrendous weather conditions, but the referee decided the pitch was fit enough to start after a lengthy pitch inspection.

It was clear from the outset that the OR’s were suffering a heavy case of post Christmas blues and Woking were clearly the better team from the outset. They were causing the Ruts back four problems and came close with a few efforts that kept Ruts keeper Wayne Alderman quite busy.

When the Ruts did manage to get the ball out of the quagmire in the middle and down the flanks, all too often the final ball was poor and was collected easily by the Woking keeper.

Woking broke the deadlock midway through the first half when they broke quickly from an OR’s corner. The skillful Woking centre forward managed to round Duncan Fraser in the box and with the ball running over the dead ball line Fraser body checked the Woking striker and the referee had no hesitation point to the spot. The resulting penalty was despatched to make it 1-0.

The rain continued to pour down but this didn’t seem to effect the drive and effort of the Woking players. It was soon 2-0 as the Ruts defended a corner very poorly and a Woking player was on hand to fire home from close range.

The second half started in much the same manner. The pitch was getting extremely waterlogged and the OR’s only managed to trouble the Woking back four on a handful of occasions. Woking scored their third when a free kick was parried and slotted home once more from within the six yard area.

From this point on the match was pretty much a non-event with the OR’s not looking like getting back one goal let alone three. With the light fading and the pitch looking more like a swimming pool, the referee called a halt to proceedings and abandoned the match after 78 minutes.

The fate of the match is now in the hands of the league but the OR’s can have no complaints if Woking are awarded the three points as they controlled the match throughout.

The OR’s will need to sort things out this Saturday in order to progress to the next round of the Surrey Cup.

By Richard Lines

After last week's poor and frankly unacceptable performance at a very wet Poplar Road, the Ruts were looking for a much improved performance this week against Bisley Sports Reserves in this Surrey Cup 4th round tie. Changes were made and Brian, Gavin and the rest of the people who were subjected to the prior week's outing hoped to see team spirit, drive, passion and better football all around on a pitch that - considering it had taken a battering the week before - was in fairly good condition.

The game got off to a good start for the Ruts, dominating possession and creating one or two decent chances in the first ten minutes. Alderman in goal hardly touched the ball in these opening exchanges and any possession Bisley had was broken up quickly by a midfield trio of Ryan Brown, Nick Raggett and what some thought was a new Iranian player, Steve Nash, having let his hair and beard grow while on suspension to resemble a tattooed Muslim.

The Ruts made their good start count when Neil Marshall took a throw deep in the Bisley half which bounced in the area allowing the fit again Lee 'Trigger' Poulter to poke home and give the Ruts a deserved 1-0 lead. Poulter was partnered up front by the youthful Reece Smith, who was full of running. The paring refused to give the Bisley defenders any time on the ball and made life uncomfortable for them with their closing down and tackles that had been missing in previous games.

The Ruts had Scott Ryder and Luke Creates on the wings. Despite having possession they were still failing to get behind the back four of Bisley, but both carried out their defensive responsibilties well.

Bisley did show signs that they were a good footballing side, enjoying a number of spells of possession during the half knocking it around in a way which the Ruts would do well to nip in the bud sooner rather than later. Unfortunately for the Ruts, a Bisley midfielder took advantage of some time allowed to him and hit a good strike from 18 yards over Alderman in goal for 1-1.

Despite the equaliser and the now shared possession, it was still the Ruts who looked more dangerous, creating a number of half chances through Smith and Poulter. And the improved defensive line up of Neil Marshall, the boy Tom Hughes and Duncan Fraser were cutting short any
breaks from Bisley. The distribution and movement was improving all over the pitch and the Ruts were playing like a team again.

They made this count right on half time. Ryan Brown played Scott Ryder through and as he took on a Bisley defender with some good footwork, the defender make a clumsy tackle in which Ryder did well to stay on his feet. He drew in another Bisley defender before finding Poulter in the six yard box who seemed to take an eternity to get the ball out from under his feet and fire past the keeper and a defender on the line. 2-1 at half time.

The second half saw the Ruts dominate from the start. Poulter and Smith continued the workrate of the first half, in particular Smith who on numerous occassions found himself breaking up Bisley possession. The central midfield trio were carrying out their roles well and the defence was working well as a unit keeping Alderman's invovlement to a few nothing balls to deal with and a few goal kicks. Hughes was having a very good game, looking more controlled and disciplined, winning everything in the air and not giving the Bisley forwards any peace.

However the key to this half was the two Ruts wingers, the youthful Luke Creates and the not so youthful Scott Ryder. Despite his years Ryder was full of endeavour, breaking forward and testing the Bisley defence with some good runs. Creates again showed his potential, taking on his full back and playing some good balls into the box, some of which Reece Smith other weeks would have converted. Both continued to find plenty of space and started to stretch Bisley.

The third and decisive goal came midway through the half. Again Smith made a good run into the Bisley final third, turned a defender and played a sublime cross to Poulter who completed his hattrick with a cool header.

The Ruts made a number of good chances to kill off this tie, but failed to convert them. Nash put a free header over from a corner, while Smith found himself unable to get contact on a couple of crosses and through balls from Poulter. Raggett also went close with a long range effort and Creates had an effort on goal well saved.

Despite this the Ruts were cruising into the next round. The only downside was the three needless bookings made by the ref. Seeing three Ruts players go into his book for what seemed like petty offences to most was strange, especially as the game was played in a good spirit throughout by both teams.

Ruts had played well and kept it up for the full 90 minutes. It will be important not to get carried
away, but take the positives into the league game next week. In the league the Ruts must be prepared for the opposition to show more fight and determination. However, this performance would
indicate that they are on the right tracks to finding the form needed to get back into contention in the title race.

The game found a number of players in contention for Man of the Match, including Reece Smith for his hard work and positive play (his performance was only missing a few goals) and Tom Hughes for his towering display at the back. However it was awarded to Lee 'Trigger' Poulter for his all round play, hard work and well deserved hattrick - and getting through 90 minutes with no injuries.

By Gavin Lennard

Understandably the scoreline sounds like the Ruts were stuffed like a helpless Christmas Turkey, although surprisingly this wasn't the case as we actually enjoyed more possession than our opponents.

The real difference was that the Ruts lacked any final decisive passes or shots with play all too often breaking down before it caused any problems for Chiddingfold, whereas the hosts seized upon virtually every opportunity presented to them.

Unavailability had forced manager Brian Kerwick to make four further changes to the previous week's line-up, so the Ruts started with Alderman, Marshall, Hughes and Hawley junior at the back. D’Rozario, Raggett, Whiter, Brown and Ryder in the middle and with last week's strike duo of Trigger and Smith out, defender Duncan Fraser moved up top to partner Neil Whyte.

Kevin Foster and Richard "I only came out of plaster this week and shouldn't really play yet" Lines formed the Ruts bench.

I probably should have known how the afternoon was going to pan out as early as the journey to the game. As the Gaffer and I began to cruise swiftly down the A3 my phone went - it was Wally: "Gav, you've left Barney the Club Linesman at the Old Ruts". "Oh sh*t" I thought, that leaves us three options:

1. We let a sub run the line and get a £10 fine from Mr Mitchell.
2. The Gaffer (two hips and one knee replacement) runs it.
3. Or I (with just the one hip replacement) run it.

Unfortunately for me this was clearly an unfair contest and so after applying a little WD40 to the affected area it was one's good self on flag waving line patrol.

In the first 15 minutes we controlled the play and should have been 2-0 up. Firstly Neil Whyte found himself in acres of space one on one with the keeper but unfortunately scuffed the effort and the keeper gratefully gathered the ball. Secondly Fraser blasted a close range effort straight at the keeper who did well to save with his legs.

As the half progressed the hosts had levelled the balance of play and amongst several sweeping moves forward they notched two well taken goals to hold a 2-0 lead at the interval.

The second half saw the Ruts control the opening stages and enjoy the greater share of possession. However, this was to count for little as Chiddingfold were gifted a 'smash and grab' opportunity when Alderman's clearance was charged down and well struck into the Ruts net.

This virtually finished the game as a contest, although fresh hope was offered when Foster and Lines came on for Whyte and D'Rozario as Kerwick attempted to mix things up a bit. Despite continuing to enjoy possession the Ruts were definitely lacking the final pass and despite creating chances they were largely wayward with the Chiddingfold keeper rarely troubled. To add salt to the wounds the hosts notched a fourth goal to wrap up a good afternoon and result for them.

With five minutes to go and my hip now sore I asked Bill Dann to blow up and put me out of my misery - for some reason he simply smiled and thought it would be better to play the game out.

Yes 4-0 is a bad result, although quite how it ended up as that I'm not quite sure. So the Ruts poor league form continued, although somewhat surprisingly despite picking up just one point from the last 12 we haven't yet sunk into mid table oblivion. Surprisingly we have only dropped to 6th place and are just five points off the leaders, as everyone appears to peak and dip themselves offering any team (from about 11th) who hits a consistent winning run the chance to propel themselves towards the ‘hot’ top spot.

From our end we need to get everyone available, fit, hungry and focused again, so that instead of cheaply relinquishing the title we rediscover the form that achieved it in the first place.

Well done to Chiddingfold who deservedly won the game, albeit with a flattering scoreline.

Young Boy Blunder Hughesy was Ruts Man of the Match with another decent display which will no doubt help cement his place in the 1st XI squad.

The Ruts must now regroup and prepare for next week's visit of Horsley in the League Cup Quarter final – with a semi final place up for grabs the Ruts will be looking to stop the rot and book their space in the next round.

By Gavin Lennard

Despite ongoing player availability headaches Ruts finally put in one of their best performances of the season.

The recent dismal league run began against Horsley in December and the Ruts were determined to stop the rot of recent weeks.

As is now seemingly customary, plenty of weekly changes were afoot with captain Alan Whiter absent on hospital guard with his good lady wife Amy awaiting the arrival of Whiter junior (we're still waiting for news and hope all went well). Scott Ryder and Reece Smith withdrew on Saturday morning and Neil Marshall (holiday) and Phil Rea (holiday and now injured more regularly than Trigger) were all unavailable.

So the Old Ruts lined up with Alderman in goal, Flanagan, Fraser, Hughes and Marc Hawley in defence, Raggett, Brown, Nash and Berry across the middle and Poulter and D’Rozario formed the front line.

Effervescent club veterans Whizzer and Wellstead were joined on the bench by Lines and young Creates.

One of the best pre-match warm ups in a while clearly helped focus the Ruts to come out with all guns blazing for the first period and Alderman was a spectator for much of the half.

Old Ruts intent was signalled early when captain for the day Trigger fired a long range drive past the despairing Horsley keeper before the five minute mark.

Old Ruts dominated the period and were perhaps guilty of not going further ahead sooner with four or five other efforts which should have tested the Horsley keeper but didn't.

That was until the half hour mark when another determined run from Trigger saw him cleverly turn a defender and unselfishly play the ball across the area to D'Rozario who lined himself up to fire home goal number two.

Kerwick praised his team for a sterling performance at the break and asked for more of the same.

As expected the visitors were fired up themselves at the start of the second half and after weathering an early storm the Ruts began to create chances once again.

Trigger scored a perfectly good goal early in the period which was frustratingly disallowed. Fortunately in the circumstances this didn't prove to be costly as following lengthy spells of possession we finally added our third goal when Brown gained possession nearly 30 yards out and, seeing the keeper off his line, cleverly lifted his long range effort goalward. Unfortunately for the Horsley keeper the ball hit the bar before hitting him and the momentum forced the ball into the net. As it was a great effort we decided to let Rhino claim it rather than declaring it an own goal.

Horsley did force a few attacks themselves in the second period although a determined backline held firm. The pick of the ORs bunch was young Hughesy who deservedly picked up Man of the Match for the second week in a row (sadly he got injured Sunday and will now be out for a few weeks - not another ambulance job was it Tom!?)

Thanks to the League for providing three officials for the match. Referee Danny Jenkins had an excellent game and proved that common sense and man-management often means that cards do not have to be cheaply shown.

With skiing holidays, big cash jackpots at Craven Cottage (I kid you not) suspension and injuries, next week's line up is a secret even the Gaffer doesn't know yet, although if last Saturday's attitude remains we will hopefully be looking to get our league form back on track.

By Gavin Lennard

The Ruts finally secured a seemingly elusive league victory for the first time since November 18th and completed their first league double of the campaign in the process.

Four cup games have been won during that period and as a result the ORs have booked a Surrey Cup quarter final place and reached the League Cup semis for the third year in succession.

With skiing holidays, injuries and suspension hampering Kerwick's selection. the Old Ruts lined up with Wayne Alderman in goal and a new look defence of Jung Luke Creates, Neil Marshall, Marc Hawley and Scott Ryder. Ryan Brown and Nick Raggett anchored the midfield flanked by Steve Berry and Kevin Foster. Lee ‘Trigger’ Poulter and Dave D’Rozario formed the front line. Scott Hawley and 1st XI debutant Sam Bethell kept the imaginary bench warm.

A largely forgettable first half had only a few moments of interest and Trigger was involved in three of them. He hit the post with an effort when the home keeper was beaten and then won a penalty himself after being brought down in the area. Uncharacteristically the caretaker captain missed the spot-kick (or rather had his effort saved by the keeper). Moments later Alderman pulled off a good save with his legs to ensure the ORs goal remained intact and the game was goalless at the interval.

After the break the Ruts played significantly better and dominated for long spells. Alderman was rarely troubled in the Ruts goal and it was the home keeper who was frequently called into action.

The game turned courtesy of some high quality play and finishing from Dave D’Rozario on 65 minutes. D’Rozario sprayed an inch perfect crossfield pass to Kevin Foster on the left wing. Foster somehow worked the ball towards the ‘D’ (not sure if it was deliberate or if you lost possession Kev!?) Anyway, D’Rozario deftly controlled the loose ball and rifled home a stunning 20 yard volley into the roof of the Shottermill goal: 1-0 to the Ruts.

In truth we had quite a few chances to increase the lead, a phenomenal 30 yard left foot drive from Nick Raggett was well saved by the Shots keeper (yes, left foot!) and Sam Bethell on for the injured Ryan Brown was unlucky to see his effort go just wide from an acute angle.

Scott Ryder also had a loopy lobber of an effort saved although I'm not convinced he intended it to be an effort on goal!

In the closing stages Trigger’s afternoon was summed up when, after doing incredibly well to create space for himself, he was unable to convert in a one on one position, although credit to the keeper who once again denied the visitors.

Old Ruts Man of the Match was a close call between the centre back pairing of Neil Marshall and Marc Hawley. Eventually Marshall narrowly edged his team mate for the invisible award which carries prestigious fantasy football value.

Well done to the Referee Matt Eva who handled the match very well (which is always great to see).

The match report rota is back in play next week as I’m on strike.

By Gavin Lennard

Our opponents for this Fifth round County Intermediate Cup tie were Esher Utd of the SSEC Intermediate league. The first teams had not previously met, although the clubs' paths had crossed on a few occasions in the Kingston & District League.

For the first time in a few months Old Ruts Manager Brian Kerwick's phone remained quiet on Friday evening and Saturday morning providing him with a healthy selection headache for a change.

Ruts lined up with Alderman in goal; Marshall, Fraser, Hughes and Flanagan in defence; the midfield was Whiter, Brown, Raggett and Nash whilst Poulter and D'Rozario formed the strike force. Creates, Bethell and Lines completed the squad for the day.

The match opened evenly as both sides weighed up their opponents. The Ruts looked more likely to gain something from open play whilst Esher forced a succession of free kicks.

On 26 minutes Poulter played a delightful through pass to D'Rozario. At first it looked as if the keeper had forced him too wide to get a shot in but D’Rozario's effort had just enough on it to cross the line despite a couple of chasing defenders trying to prevent it from doing so.

Buoyed by taking the lead, Ruts had three more decent chances to add another before captain Alan Whiter was upended in the Esher area. Trigger and Nash appeared to have agreed that the latter would resume spot kick duties and Nash duly converted, although the impressive Esher keeper did manage to get a touch on it.

So far, so good, 2–0 up at the break and pleasingly the referee Mr Gorringe had managed to keep the cards in his pocket. The Gaffer and I agreed that when players keep their mouths shut and the referee applies an enhanced level of common sense, then this cocktail can have the desired effect on a game, can't it?

By contrast the second half ended up being card crazy in the final 20 minutes. As expected Esher pushed hard to reduce the deficit with the Ruts post leading a charmed life on three occasions. Probably Esher's best chance was when their forward's effort smacked Alderman on the forehead (good save nonetheless Wayno!) and went wide of the goal for a corner.

Ruts continued to create chances themselves with probably the best of the bunch coming early in the half when a sublime pass from Brown into the path of Poulter was blasted over, denying us the opportunity to wrap the game up.

As the half progressed past the midway stage the game inherited a niggly incident here and there, although credit to both teams for bouncing straight back from it to keep the game moving.

A steady flow of cards were introduced and in my humble opinion some were deserved and some were not. As it's a game of opinions and we have the freedom of speech in England (off the field) I can highlight the most contentious ones from an OR perspective. Raggett somehow saw red for the first time in his career on 75 minutes following a 50/50 clash and Trigger picked up a yellow simply for saying something laughable rather than petulant.

Yet again young Hughesy picked up Ruts Man of the Match award although it could easily have been anyone from five or six players who applied themselves well throughout.

In summary we deserved to win this competitive affair which was slightly marred by a late flurry of incidents and cards.

Ruts only previous taste of County Intermediate semi final action was during the 1998/99 season during their first season in Intermediate football. This time around the Ruts will be hoping to go one better if they can overcome league counterparts Shottermill & Haslemere on the 24th March.

By Gavin Lennard

Old Ruts returned to League action against Ripley and lined up with Craig Wellstead in goal (who came in for the injured Alderman, although he recovered sufficiently to take a place on the bench). Neil Marshall, Duncan Fraser, Tom Hughes and Andy Flanagan formed the rear guard. Alan Whiter, Steve Nash, Nick Raggett and Richard Lines (who made a welcome return to the starting line up after more than three months out following his broken arm) were in the middle. And the Poulter/D’Rozario partnership continued up top, with Scott Ryder, Wayne Alderman and First team debutant Daragh Corrigan filling the bench.

From early on it was evident the game wasn’t going to be pretty on a difficult pitch, and equally apparent was the fact that the Ruts engine was clearly in dire need of a service with virtually all of it’s cylinders seized or misfiring on this occasion.

From an OR perspective there really isn’t too much to write about. Wally and the defence generally did their jobs, the forwards were deprived of decent service and the normally reliable midfield struggled to connect the two.

The Ruts did create quite a few half chances during the period although as I’m struggling to think of anything particularly memorable I won’t search too hard into the weekend's archives.

Half time saw manager Kerwick emphatically explain a few things as it was clear that normal service urgently needed to resume.

However, this wasn’t forthcoming and midway through the second period Ripley broke the seemingly embedded deadlock by taking full advantage when two Ruts defenders failed to clear and their striker gratefully fired home.

Gradually the game opened up a bit more as the OR’s finally twigged that better action was required and as a result exposed themselves at the back a bit more, and only vital last ditch tackles from the defence prevented the score-line altering.

Ryder and Corrigan came on for Nash and D’Rozario with debutant Corrigan impressing with some trickery and pace down the right hand side (this was probably the solitary plus of the afternoon for the OR’s).

Our best efforts late on in the half saw a Raggett shot kept out by the keeper (possibly with help from the post?), a Lines shot hit the side netting and a Ryder volley sail high and over.

Despite there being a few other chances at both ends the final whistle was relatively welcoming as at least the lacklustre show was over. Neil Marshall claimed the Ruts MOTM award with a solid display.

Despite the good ship ORAFC hitting turbulent waters more frequently than usual this season we all know that a reasonable league position and two semi-finals is a pretty decent place to be.

The month of March ahead is undoubtedly a key one if the season is to prove fruitful rather than barren, so let’s ensure the spanners come out of our engine and into the works elsewhere.

By Dave D'Rozario

Old Ruts saw a welcome return to form in the league with a comprehensive win over Virginia Water. Manager Brian Kerwick was forced to reshuffle his pack once again and decided to line up 4-4-2 with Alderman returning in goal who along with Flanagan, Marshall, Fraser and Ryder completed the rear guard. Nash, Brown, Whiter and Raggett set up across the middle with D'Rozario and Bethell starting up top. Lines, Hughes and Corrigan provided the gaffer with a strong bench.

Virginia Water (VW) started well and certainly had the better of the early exchanges. On 20 minutes VW were unlucky not to take the lead when their right half rattled the Old Ruts bar with a snapshot from the edge of the box. Shortly after VW had a great chance to go ahead when their forward latched on to a through ball and found himself clean through on goal, but he was unable to beat Alderman who made an excellent point blank save.

VW were made to pay for squandering early chances when on 25 minutes Old Ruts first real attack of the game saw them take the lead. A good delivery in to the box found Bethell who controlled well and fired home. This seemed to spur Old Ruts on and within 5 minutes the lead was extended. A good move down the left saw Bethell pick out Raggett who calmly slotted the ball past the onrushing VW keeper.

Old Ruts went three up shortly after when another good move down the left found Raggett in the box, his powerful drive could only be parried by the VW keeper leaving D'Rozario with the simplest of chances, slotting home into an empty net.

The half ended with Old Ruts well in the ascendancy and the midfield quartet of Nash, Brown, Whiter and Raggett dominating proceedings.The half time chat saw the Gaffer ask for a greater work rate, with the emphasis on keeping things tight for the first 15 minutes of the second half and getting another goal to kill the game.

The second half started evenly and as expected VW pressed men forward in search of a goal to get back in the game. On 55 minutes Corrigan came on to replace the injured D'Rozario, slotting in at right half with Nash joining Bethel up front. The game was effectively over as a contest shortly after when the tireless Whiter chased on to a ball from Bethell and shot across the keeper finding the bottom corner. It must be said the V.W keeper could have done better, in fact Stevie Wonder may have done better!

With 25 minutes remaining Lines came on to replace the influential Brown, Nash moved in to centre midfield and Lines joined Bethel up top. VW continued to press in search of an elusive consolation goal. Their best effort came late on when a well struck free kick from the edge of the Old Ruts box looked goalbound until Alderman defied the laws of gravity to make a fine save.

Old Ruts completed an excellent afternoon's work with goal number five. A good ball from Bethell found Lines who cut the ball back to Corrigan to slot home well from 8 yards.

After some deliberation Sam Bethell was awarded Man of the Match on his full debut for his excellent all round display!

By Gavin 'Keats' Lennard

The dressing room fell quiet when I happened to ask,
"Who's on Match report duty, who'll take the task?"

The excuses were feeble and I'm getting fed up,
Although Trigger’s doing next week when we're up for the cup.

" I haven't got time" was the worst excuse,
Unfair thought El Pres, yet again left to muse.

In the past two weeks we've converted ten without reply,
Quite odd, though the fact that harder many could try.

And so to the match - t'was another league fixture,
A fine array of goals made for quite a mixture.

Wayno was alert with two fine saves early on,
Before Raggett took centre stage with aplomb.

A Rags glancing header enabled goal number one,
Before a second Rags header saw the defence undone.

Big credit to Ockham who worked hard throughout,
Although when Whiter hit the third the result was beyond doubt.

A debatable penalty offered Rags the chance of getting three,
A couple of idiotic comments didn’t help if you ask me.

His effort was a shocker it must be said,
Probably better converting with his trusted old head.

Late on in the game Foster struck a fine fourth,
His right foot no less and it didn't head North!

Rags completed his hat-trick late on in the game
So the MOTM award was put in his name.

The tempo needs upping now, no time for a rest.
Listen to El Pres boys, he surely knows best.

By Gavin Lennard

After experiencing League Cup Semi final exits in the previous two seasons the Ruts were hoping to make it third time lucky this time around.

The Ruts lined up with Alderman in goal and Fraser, Marshall, Ryder and Flanagan forming the rearguard.

Brown, Nash, Raggett and Whiter patrolled the midfield, D’Rozario and Poulter led the attack whilst a very strong bench of Lines, Hughes and Corrigan completed the squad.

The first period was 'a bit of a stalemate' as the Ruts were unable to maintain sustained momentum in the final third of the pitch, whilst Salesians main threats and strengths appeared to be aerial. That said, their two best first half opportunities came from rare defensive lapses and a couple of efforts went narrowly wide.

Ruts managed to get the ball in the Salesians net twice in the first 45 minutes through Trigger and Whiter, although both efforts were offside allowing the interval to arrive goalless.

Kerwick's half time talk worked to good effect as the second period saw the ORs apply concerted spells of pressure on the Salesians defence.

The all important break through came midway through the half when a Raggett throw in down the Ruts left was met on the bye line by D’Rozario, whose deft glancing header was firmly converted by Steve Nash with a header which fired into the roof of the net.

Clearly lifted after breaking the deadlock, the Ruts temporarily relaxed nearly allowing their opponents to level when a shot was fired against Alderman's crossbar.

Immediately wary not to compromise their lead, the Ruts proceeded to create further chances for themselves and when the influential D’Rozario fired home Ruts second goal with a long distance effort a League Cup final appearance began to beckon.

Poulter and D’Rozario had worked incredibly hard all afternoon and Trigger finally had to bow out on 75 minutes owing to a troublesome knee infection. Richard Lines replaced him and almost immediately made a significant impact which saw his glancing header from a Brown delivery narrowly fizz wide with the keeper beaten.

The ORs solid committed display especially in the second half is what ultimately booked them an evening out on the 25th April. Dave D’Rozario narrowly won Ruts M.O.T.M award ahead of Trigger and Raggett.

Ruts are back in cup action next weekend when they visit League counterparts Shottermill & Haslemere to contest the Surrey Intermediate Cup semi-final. With a prestigious final place at stake it promises to be a keenly contested affair.

By Gavin Lennard

The scoreline suggests a relatively comfortable home win for the hosts of this County Cup Semi-final although the events behind this facade were somewhat different.

The Ruts were looking forward to one of their biggest matches in years and the team lined up with Alderman, Flanagan, Marshall, Hughes and Fraser in defence; Whiter, Brown, Nash and Ryder in midfield and strike partners Poulter and D’Rozario up the front. For the second week in succession Ruts had the comfort of a very strong bench with Lines, Corrigan and Bethell completing the squad.

To add flavour to the tie the Mayor of Haslemere Brian Howard was present. Coincidentally in addition to his local prestige he is also a Life member of the Old Rutlishians Association. Brian generously sponsored the match balls and laid on a fantastic spread and free drinks post match. Thank you Brian, your hospitality was excellent and most appreciated.

So moving on to the game itself, the first contentious incident after seven minutes helped write the script for the rest of the afternoon. If I said the incident involved two Old Ruts players and one got sent off, you could mistakenly imagine scenes like Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer having an on-pitch brawl or of training ground madness like the incident involving John Hartson and Eyal Berkovic.

However, this was more like Keystone Cops and occurred as follows. Brown was whinging at his team-mate Ryder as per usual and Ryder tripped his team mate up - that’s it. So two former Rutlish school mates have a very minor internal domestic and a very slightly raised foot is deemed a wild lunging kick by the ridiculously officious referee and choirboy Ryder is sent from the field of play for violent conduct leaving the gob-smacked audience scratching their heads.

The game continued with the Ruts generally enjoying the better possession and creating the clearer cut chances. The best of the half saw captain Alan Whiter’s effort well saved by the home keeper.

The card happy official cheaply waved the ‘yellow one’ around a few times as the game developed and without doubt this directed the match towards its unjust conclusion later on.

Half time arrived goalless, although manager Brian Kerwick was pleased with how his team had adjusted to the early adversity.

Ruts stepped up a gear in the second half and the hosts were spending long periods of time on the back foot. Concerted spells of pressure saw numerous attempts fire in on the Shottermill goal, and only the post, some good keeping and good fortune denied the ORs the lead.

As so often happens in this wonderful game a smash and grab then occurred when a swift counter attack from the hosts punished the Ruts. Despite their player’s first shot being well saved by Alderman, his parry found the feet of another Shottermill forward who converted to give them the lead midway through the period.

Shortly after Steve Nash found himself the unfortunate meat of a Shottermill sandwich and his retaliation deservedly earned him a yellow card, but as he’d picked up a dubious yellow earlier on, his collection now totalled two and the red one followed.

With 15 minutes remaining Kerwick brought on Richard Lines who made an immediate impact heading home a Brown corner with his first touch to give the Ruts a deserved leveller.

Very temporarily thoughts of a valiant resurgent nine man victory entered my mind. But then another ‘complete shocker’ of a decision reduced the Ruts to eight players. I say ‘shocker’ because the referee appeared to have forgotten he’d booked Brown earlier on (which definitely wasn’t a booking anyway). As it happens the second yellow may have been deserved (I honestly don’t know as I didn’t see it clearly). However having reduced a team to nine men you’d surely expect common sense to prevail with the Referee aware of the earlier position giving the player a final ticking off ahead of turning a clean game into an even bigger farce by dismissing three players from the same team.

Personally I think the referee only realised he’d cautioned Brown earlier on after he went to book him for the second time, therefore he then had nowhere to go with his decision, other than to follow it up with yet another nonsensical red.

Alderman pulled off an excellent save from a Shottermill header as the Old Ruts continued to soak up as much pressure as possible and Kerwick then played his final card, replacing D’Rozario with Corrigan.

With the Ruts 3-3-1 formation now critically stretched the only option left was to give it a bit of ‘gung-ho’ and remarkably this approach came within a whisker of paying off.

With Shottermill now camped in the Ruts half a big clearance saw ORs speedy Corrigan evade two defenders and spring the offside trap 40 yards from goal. With just the keeper to beat Corrigan raced forward and lifted his shot over the stranded keeper, only to see his effort hit the charmed crossbar and the Ruts candles began to go out.

Ironically, one of the final twists saw a flicker of common sense applied. Hughes rashly went through the back of a Shottermill player offering the referee a genuine reason to give a red card in what had largely been a clean tempered game. Knowing that if he reduced the Ruts to seven players he would have to abandon the match, the referee allowed Hughes to stay on the pitch to partake in the final stages of the day’s travesty.

By this point the Ruts destiny was crystal clear - the homeward journey back up the A3 was going to be fruitless, so let’s just get it over and done with.

Fortunately for us Shottermill did convert (twice) late on in normal time and strangely I found this a relief, as at least it saved the eight resilient players from having to face any undeserved embarrassment during an additional 30 minutes.

The Gaffer and I were very proud of how the team performed and how close they came to victory in such extreme adversity. Only two people will ever know how this clean competitive game ended as it did and one of them is God.

By Gavin Lennard

For the first time in three weeks Old Ruts returned to league action following their participation in Cup semi-finals. Last week's farcical affair had to be eliminated from the OR's minds as they travelled to the league leaders intent on repaying the compliment the hosts had inflicted on them earlier in the season by notching an away victory.

After a couple of steady months Ruts topsy-turvy availability headaches were back in force leaving them without captain Alan Whiter, Lee ‘Trigger’ Poulter, Ryan Brown and Tom Hughes from the previous week whilst Nick Raggett was still suspended.

On the plus side this enabled the squad to be fully utilised offering deserved starts for several patient others. The ORs lined up with Alderman in the sticks, Mark Kerwick, Duncan Fraser, Neil Marshall and Scott Ryder in defence. Daragh Corrigan, Steve Nash, Richard Lines and Andy Flanagan formed the midfield quartet, Sam Bethell partnered Dave D’Rozario whilst nicotine free Kevin Foster joined the chain smoking duo Luke Creates and Marc Hawley on the youthful bench.

To be honest this wasn't a pretty game as the swirling cross winds dictated much of the match preventing sweeping football, therefore it was rare to see either side string multiple passes together that often.

That said the ORs enjoyed the greater possession with wide men Corrigan and Flanagan proving useful outlets, with Corrigan in particular using his pace to good effect on the left hand side.

Unfortunately the Ruts picked up further cards this week with the Andorran travelling duo Nashy & Linesy picking up a card a piece together with Fraser - fortunately these were custard colour and not the bright red type unnecessarily used the previously week. Thankfully the trio remained 'well balanced on their yellow tightropes' managing not to fall off during the remainder of the game.

In first half injury time Marshall (or Flanagan?) delivered a free kick into the Milford area, it pin-balled around a little bit before finding Nash who was alert to prod home from seven yards providing the Ruts with a deserved lead at the interval whilst maintaining his impressive scoring rate for a midfielder.

10 minutes in to the second half Kerwick decided to freshen things up a bit and Choirboy ‘Aled Jones’ Ryder was literally ‘walking in the air’ when the Gaffer moved him from left back to partner D’Rozario in attack in a move that saw Bethell go off and Marc Hawley fill the defensive void left by Aled.

Apart from one real rare scare for Alderman the Ruts defended the Milford attacks resolutely, with only several half hearted penalty appeals causing any real concern and as the game developed the Ruts continued to create openings themselves.

In the latter stages Ryder and D’Rozario traded places with Foster and Creates which proved a good move adding the young subs pace to that of Corrigan's and at times the trio ran the Milford defence a merry dance.

Creates fired in a right wing shot which the Milford keeper managed to keep out and Foster cleverly crafted a clear opportunity for himself before blasting over. Late on Foster totally redeemed himself by cleverly hooking his shot over the advancing keeper to wrap the game up for the Ruts.

Caretaker captain Richard Lines epitomised the Ruts workmanlike performance with an impressive display which deservedly earned him the Ruts MOTM award ending his months of frustration on the sidelines following early season injury.

With two games scheduled next weekend Kerwick's squad will continue to be stretched due to numerous absentees. However, if the positives from this display are maintained the Ruts will hope to silently creep up behind the chasing pack with their attempt to retain the title.

By Gavin Lennard

This weekend proved a logistical headache for the Ruts as it proved a feat in itself to actually field three teams, let alone achieve two victories.

Fortunately for us the 3rd XI kicked off at 12.30pm, the 1st XI at 3pm and the 2nd XI at 4pm (which was accidental rather than planned) Anyway, pleasingly a few players were able to play 2 x 90 minutes and some U17s and a Vet (Boo-Boo) supported the cause.

At Poplar Road the 1st XI hosted a WPHFC side who had every right to feel aggrieved at having to repeat events following their victory over us in January. However, as the weather put paid to proceedings on 78 minutes on that